The present invention has particular application to shareable mobile assets such as tractor-trailers. However, the invention is also applicable to other types of mobile assets such as railroad cars, buses, boats and any other types of mobile assets that are shareable among entities wherein it is desirable to monitor their location and status, such as to determine the availability thereof.
Mobile asset management is a major concern in various industries such as trucking, railroad and rental cars. The asset manager must keep track of the status and location of each mobile asset. The asset manager also must be able to determine the availability of each mobile asset to assess whether there is a shortage or excess of mobile assets at a particular location at present or in the future. To maximize asset utilization, the asset manager must be able to easily share his excess mobile assets and to borrow mobile assets when there is a need.
Systems for tracking and monitoring of mobile assets for fleet management are generally known. In general, a trucking company can use these systems to track the status and location of each tractor-trailer in a fleet to check for proper operating conditions, any misuse, and to monitor the progress of each vehicle for scheduling and security purposes.
Car rental companies have used monitoring and tracking systems for similar purposes. In general, the known systems are used to check status, determine availability, locate each vehicle in the fleet, and automate pick up and drop off.
In the railroad industry sharing railroad cars among companies is generally known. When a railroad company has excess railroad cars that are not in use and available for a certain period of time, the company then tries to rent them out to other railroad companies needing railroad cars during that time. The companies try to best match their needs, based on the period of use, location of railroad cars, and type of railroad cars. Due to the size of the industry, the sharing of railroad cars is limited to a few companies in the industry. In addition, railroad cars are geographically limited to the rail lines.
A rental system typically includes a company that owns a fleet of mobile assets, and users who need access to additional mobile assets for a short or long term period. A user detects the need for additional mobile assets, and then communicates with different companies regarding availability of mobile assets in a desired location. When the user finds a mobile asset that meets his needs, he requests permission to rent the mobile asset. The company and user enter into an agreement that permits the user to use the mobile asset. At the end of the rental term, the user returns the mobile asset and final charges are assessed according to the agreement. These rental systems include only one source of mobile assets that is in the business of renting mobile assets and users needing additional mobile assets. These rental systems do not permit an entity that is not in the business of renting to rent its available mobile assets. So, an entity with excess mobile assets may not rent them out to other users in need of additional mobile assets. Similarly, the user must deal with one rental source of mobile assets at a time. The user cannot view all available mobile assets from different rental sources according to his needs at the same time.